Pilot Debrief

BELL 206B near San Juan, PR — 2012-08-18

Final reportERA12TA515
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Date
2012-08-18
Location
San Juan, PR, USA
Aircraft
BELL 206B
Registration
N118EC
Category
Helicopter
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Descent

Probable cause

The crew’s inadequate preflight inspection and failure to monitor the fuel state during flight, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.

NTSB narrative

The helicopter was serviced with 25 gallons of fuel about 3 hours before the accident flight, and the pilot thought he had a total of 60 gallons of fuel on board. About 35 minutes into the flight, the crew smelled a fuel-like odor and initiated a return to the airport. Five minutes later, the fuel pump warning light illuminated, and the engine lost power. The pilot initiated an autorotation into a parking lot, and the helicopter landed hard, partially severing the tail boom. Postaccident examination of the wreckage revealed that the fuel tank was empty and undamaged. There were no signs of fuel leakage observed, and the fuel filler cap was secure. All fuel system components and lines were in good working order. The fuel gauge read “zero” when energized on the ground. Fuel was later added to the tank to check for leaks; none were observed. Finally, the engine was removed from the airframe and installed on a similar helicopter. The engine was test run on the ground and in a hover for a total of 40 minutes with no anomalies noted. The fuel burn during the test run was normal for the helicopter. Neither pilot reported observing the fuel tank gauges during the accident flight. It is likely that the crew began the flight with much less fuel than they thought they had and did not monitor the fuel state during flight.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Fuel management
First missed decision gate
Pilot did not check fuel gauge before departure or during flight.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Photos
  • 6 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents6

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